Library response:

Thanks for your comment. We do have staff patrol through the Silent Study room on the 4th floor on a fairly regular basis during the evenings, when we usually receive the most complaints, and while there they try to do a walk through of the larger Quiet Study area. As you note, the real problem is lack of study seats in the libraries, so students are sitting anywhere, not choosing their study space by the type of space as it has been designated. 

We are working on adding more study space to the libraries. Just last week we re-opened the 2nd floor of Thode Library which now has 400 seats intended for individual study only. More than 2/3's of these spaces have power. We are hoping that students who want quiet, individual study will gravitate to this area, leaving the 1st floor of Thode for group study. 

Additionally, for next fall we plan to have the entire 6th floor of Mills designated as Silent Study. This area will be furnished with carrels, not tables, to help keep the area Silent. 

We ask for your patience as we re-purpose some of our spaces. We do understand how important Quiet and Silent study spaces are for our users, and we are doing our best to provide these.

 

(Feb 2/12)
Answered by: Anne Pottier (Associate University Librarian, Library Services)

Library response: Thank you so much for letting me know.   Cheyenne is one of our great student assistants.  I have passed your message on to her with my thanks for her wonderful work. (Jan 31/12)
Answered by: Liz Bayley (Director, Health Sciences Library)

Library response:

Thanks for sharing your experience. You're correct that there are dead or weak spots in the wifi umbrella in Mills. Many of those are unavoidable, particularly on floors where there is a high density of metal shelving, which wreaks havoc on any number of signals. Mills generally has one of the densest wifi nets on campus, and currently there are no plans to upgrade the network.

 

Power is another area where we're highly aware of the situation. As you've probably seen, there are numerous additional power outlets in Mills, particularly on levels one and three, but in general where we can, we do put out more power. It's the "can" that's the issue. It's an older building, and there's only so much one can add before exceeding capacity in certain areas. That applies to installing the ceiling dropdowns. We do that when we renovate spaces, but it comes at a cost and cannot be done globally.

 

I was speaking with some students in a meeting today about both of these issues and might add two other thoughts. One is that the demand for wifi in Mills is particularly high since campus, in general, does not have ubiquitous wireless, as do many campuses in Ontario and further afield. I do what I can from my position to lobby to change this; I suggest to any students who will listen that they join in the chorus. For me, wifi is no longer about convenience nor fun; it's my lifeblood. No network means a greatly impaired ability to work effectively. The other thought concerns power. I feel the pain of every student I see seeking a power outlet, having gone through the same quest in countless airports and hotel conference spaces. What finally freed me from that was ditching my laptop for a far less expensive netbook. Sure, it's not as capable as a laptop in some ways, but in others it's a dream: lighter, smaller, and with battery life well in excess of eight hours. As I've gotten used to it, I find it harder and harder to remember why I had a laptop.

(Jan 26/12)
Answered by: Dale Askey (Associate University Librarian, Library Learning Technologies)

Library response:

Thank you for sending in this book recommendation.  I am happy to purchase material on this topic, however I notice that this book was published in 2006 and is a bit old.  I will investigate purchasing recent books on Complementary and Alternative Medicine, but if you feel that this book in particular should be added to the collection, please contact me directly and I can do that.

Regards,

Andrea McLellan, Head of Collections, Health Sciences Library.

(Jan 23/12)
Answered by: Andrea McLellan (Head of Collections and Technical Services, School of Medicine Liaison)

Library response:

Thanks for your suggestion, and for taking the time to describe what you've observed. We are aware of the issues we are having with the primary catalogue, and are in fact working hard behind the scenes to remedy them. The error message itself gives a somewhat misleading impression; we are not performing maintenance that goes on for days, nor is it really a capacity issue. The technical issue at the core of it is the interaction between two different servers, one which supplies the content, while the other delivers the McMaster-branded interface. We know there are issues, but they are proving elusive to nail down, but please rest assured that this is very high on our radar and we hope to eliminate them soon.

 

It's not a perfect workaround, but when this occurs, you can always use our Classic Catalogue (https://mcmaster.sirsidynix.net/ - also linked below the search box on our main page) to search the catalogue. It runs on a different platform, so does not suffer from this particular issue.

(Jan 23/12)
Answered by: Dale Askey (Associate University Librarian, Library Learning Technologies)

Library response: This is on our radar, just a matter of getting it scheduled and having someone to do it. Thanks for the reminder, though! (Jan 19/12)
Answered by: Dale Askey (Associate University Librarian, Library Learning Technologies)

Library response:

Thanks for your comment. Actually, the PCs over in Thode are brand new, having just been deployed over the past few weeks. They have Intel Core i5 processors and 4GB of RAM. That's a pretty solid machine. Not flashy, but capable.

 

With regard to higher screen resolution, I'd be curious what you want to do for which the resolution is insufficient. Part of the issue with upping resolution, of course, is that one size does not fit all. In other words, what works for your eyes might not work for someone else. Off the top of my head, I believe those machines are set to 1280x1024, which is pretty standard for a 4:3 monitor.

(Jan 12/12)
Answered by: Dale Askey (Associate University Librarian, Library Learning Technologies)

Library response:

Sorry to hear about the problems you were having with the network. Two staff members checked signal strength in the study rooms on the fourth floor (402, etc.) today and the signal strength was strong and steady. It may have been a transient network issue that caused the problem. These tend to occur predictably at the beginning of each term when usage spikes.

 

You are correct that the wired ports do not work. For a variety of reasons, we encourage students to use the wireless network.

(Jan 9/12)
Answered by: Dale Askey (Associate University Librarian, Library Learning Technologies)

Library response: Thanks for letting us know.  I have just checked the room myself, and although I didn't find it "extremely hot" it was rather warm.  The air flow in the front areas of the Health Sciences Library were adjested a few weeks ago resulting in uncomfortable temperatures in the enclosed areas including the Reserve Reading Room.  We have a work order in to Engineering to investigate. (Jan 2/12)
Answered by: Liz Bayley (Director, Health Sciences Library)

Library response: Thanks for the suggestion.  When the Health Sciences Library was renovated, accessibility was a major consideration.  This is why we have the print release stations at the present counter height.  You can always print at one of the copiers either in the Reserve Reading Room on the upper level or in the copier room on the lower level if you prefer to stand. (Dec 23/11)
Answered by: Liz Bayley (Director, Health Sciences Library)